Behind The Facade
by Kagome-Loves-Kouga
Summary: Sakura can't really be all that happy, now can she? You can see the sadness in her eyes, the bittersweetness of her smiles... When she finally comes to terms with what she's been denying to herself all these years, what could possibly come of it?
1. Chapter 1

**K.L.K- This is for Sakura. You see, I just realized something. Sakura can't really be all that happy in Konoha anymore. Not really. She's coddled uneedingly there, is probably mistreated by people due to her colouring, and most importantly she's a doctor with late shifts as well as a field medic. She's gotta be unhappy inside, knowing that these people hold her back every single day. So here it is... for Sakura.**

**TITLE: Behind The Facade**

**SUMMARY: Sakura can't really be all that happy, now can she? You can see the sadness in her eyes, the bittersweetness of her smiles... When she finally comes to terms with what she's been denying to herself all these years, what could possibly come of it?**

**RATING: T**

**AUTHORESS'S NOTE: Well, as it said above... Sakura cannot be all that content. Even though she has friends, you have to admit it woulod be rather strained. She works long, hard hours in a hospital, goes on missions, and is usually exhausted. So she wouldn't leave too much time for socializing, eh? Well, here we go.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Sakura, but I certainly own this plot. At least, I hope I do.**

* * *

Green eyes darted behind closed eyelids. The woman who was barely eighteen caught herself against the white wall, scolding herself for falling asleep on the job. Again. It was three a.m- or _sometime_near then- and she hadn't really slept in about a day. She was running on pure will and caffine from the cheap, disgustingly thin coffee in the lounge.

She wiped her tired, slightly bloodshot eyes with her hands, which had chipped black kunoichi nail polish on them. She sighed in her exhaustion, and was content slightly with the fact that her chakra reproduced quickly, and that Inner was there to talk to. The entity at least kept her awake. Usually.

She fumbled with the dropped papers; good thing nobody usually passed this hallway this late. She put them back in order- as best she could, and started reading her next patients' chart. She pursed her lips together in distaste. Kakashi. She tried to avoid her old teammates at all costs, because she was much too tired to deal with thier antics. Not to mention each time the rosette even met up with them, she was reminded constantly of how the team had fallen apart until she couldn't stand it anymore and requested missions away from them. It was terrible, really, but she didn't have the energy she used to.

Fact was, she was getting worn down. The Haruno was tired and dogged, almost as much as she wished she never would get, back when she was still niave and young. Every day now one of her patients died it seemed, only because she got the ridiculously hard-to-handle assignments. Some even the Hokage would throw her hands up at. Like the old woman with the gash nearly severing a flap of skin from several of her organs from a machinery accident, with a poisonous compound mixed in. The little albino girl who hadn't heeded people's warnings, and half-cooked herself by the sunlight. The young shinobi who lost his lower half- including his organs...She had only been able to keep him alive for him to finish his will and say farewell to his family.

And the cases got tougher. Unknown, fast acting destructive poisons. Unnamed diseases. And even unknown pregnancy problems that persisted due to the family's genetics. The apprentice of the Hokage sighed in distress as she realized he was clutching his stomach in pain. she summoned her green chakra as she focused her hands over his navel, scanning for the damage. Ah. It was a deep kunai wound, nothing she couldn't handle.

she focused the energy, and it healed the damage, stitching organ, tissue, and skin back together before her calm, unworried eyes. "There." she hummed, putting the hospital gown back down- thankfully they'd let him keep his boxers- and then pushed a hand through her now-long hair. "It's done. Hatake-san, you can sign out and go home."

he raised an eyebrow. "'Hatake-san'?" he mused, a tinge of humor to his voice. "Well, _'Haruno-san'_, I thank you for the care, but what's going on with you?"

she gave another sigh. She did that alot nowadays. "Nothing of your concern, Hatake-san." as she tried to leave, she allowed him to catch her wrist.

"Sakura... listen... We really miss you. We want you to come back. What do you say?" his eyes begged her, the dark depth of one as trembling as the sharingan one. "_Please_..."

"No." she spoke curtly. "Listen...Kakashi," she spoke his first name, trying to get him to listen. "I've gotten stronger, away from the team. I do not feel it to be... Right to continue on with you and the others like that anymore. Simply because I have grown up, out of your thick shroud of protection, and I know it would only see fit to return if I did."

he dropped her wrist. She was right. And he couldn't deny anything she'd said. "Will you at least train with the team sometime? They would be more than happy to just see you." his voice was so somber, it made Inner flinch.

"I will see if I can. But I may not be able to." she spoke in a clipped tone, and then exited the room, on the way to her next patient. A simple case of the cold, nothing to it but to rest and take antibiotics, as she told him as he left distraught. She made her way to the lounge, where a few tired nurses and thier aides puttered about, drinking cheap coffee and snacking on cold leftovers that most likely tasted like fridge.

She shot a glance to them, but grabbed a cup of the terrible tasting thin, watery coffee that tasted like tar. it at least had caffine, enough for her to get home. she downed it as she undressed in the women's dressing room, hanging her slightly stained- a few bloodstains, vomit, poisons and other unmentionable liquids from the human body- uniform on the hanger in her locker, changing back into her black Haruno zip-up top that had long mesh sleeves, and the tight black pants that had chains all over them on. The only reason she even really wore this in public was because she'd gotten lazy with the household chores and it was all she had to wear that was clean.

She'd thrown the last of her wet laundry into the dryer though, so she'd wear her normal attire the next day. She'd been wearing the same thing ever since she'd become a chunin, due to her lack of extra time to go shopping. Oh sure, every few years, she picked up a new pair of the clothing because the old ones had become too threadbare or worn, but that was the only way she got new clothes.

She quickly slipped on her shin-gaurding boots she usually wore with her regular onsomble, and then headed out the door and then out of the hospital itself, onto the dark, quiet streets of Konoha. She dragged herself home, then to her bed and after her perinoid nature forced her to spend her last bits of energy locking every concieveably entrance to her apartment. She then fell just short of her futon, falling into a somewhat restful sleep on the floor even as her stomach growled.

-  
When she awoke in the morning, she shrugged off the nightmares she had periodically. Always of the same thing, but she was unable to determine the meaning of the intimidating, nameless, shapeless fear. But she hid it. Shinobi need not fear of things they didn't need to know. Or at least, that's what the Code said.

She shook the thoughts out of her head, rising from the floor with sore muscles. she hopped in the shower, ignoring the cries of her empty stomach. As soon as she was done, she sent a wave of chakra to her hair, drying it in a matter of seconds even though it was so long. The next step was her toilet. She relieved herself, then headed over to her terribly small kitchen, eating two ham-and-cheese sandwhiches, then drinking some extra black, extra caffinated coffee. she didn't even try hiding the dark circles. She was supposed to go to Tsunade to train with, and the Hokage had picked an early time. Seven a.m, to be exact.

She hurried off to the Hokage tower, entering without being announced. It was all the same to Tsunade, who looked at her and then waved her off.

"Go do something else, Sakura. An urgent matter has appeared."

Sakura ground her teeth. It isnt' that she didn't appreciate the chance at rest; Tsunade said that every time. Every single time. She knew the blonde was trying to deter her from exhausting herself, but she really had no choice. As she exited out the doors of the tower. She thought to herself. What could she do now? No training with Tsunade, her neighbors were excessively loud during the day, so no getting rest there...She then vaugely remembered the invitation from Kakashi.

_**'You're crazy for thinking about doing it... But it sounds good.'**_ Inner commented.

With the guys there, she might even allow herself to sleep. _Nah_. Probably not.

-  
she looked around the group cautiously. Nothing seemed to have changed. So, with that she mustered her bearings, and then jumped down from the tree's branch. "Uhm... Yo." she greeted quietly, raising a hand in a weak, socially akward guesture of a wave.

Naruto's eyes grew wide. "S...Sakura-chan!" He instantly jumped at her, but she sidestepped and he had to throw his arms over his head to avoid whacking his head on a tree trunk. Her face was a disguised shocked. "..._Oomhf_..."

She bowed when he finally got back up. "Gomen-nasai Naruto-san. It was a reflex." she straightened herself, only to see the others gaping. She realized her error. "O_ops_..." She never used to be that formal... With ANYONE.

"Woah... I would call you ugly, but it doesn't fit you anymore." Sai observed as he looked her over.

"Aa." she grunted. "Kakashi, you said I could train, correct?"

he swallowed then gave a nod. "Y-Yeah..."

she cracked her knuckles, then shot up, sticking to the underside of the branch in a crouching position. "Good. Shisou refuses to train me anymore, for some reason."

-  
The boys collapsed in a panting, sweaty heap as Sakura stood, slightly huffing and with a sheen of sweat on her brow. "That was... far too easy." she spoke after they stood, causing them to sweatdrop. "Really. I might just have to use a B-rank mission as training from now on."

they blinked owlishly. "What?" Kakashi choked out.

she looked surprised. "Oh, you haven't heard...?" she gave a tiny, tired chuckle. "I'm officially a high ANBU level. But I'm just a special Jonin."

Sai looked like a fish out of water, and Naruto started shouting curses and the like out in shock. Kakashi took a step forward. "But... You... You're so--"

"So what?" she interrupted, eyes hard. "So young? So weak? So inexperienced? Pfft. Obviously you've fallen out of tune with me." she then rocketed up to the underside of the branch, this time only by her feet. "Listen, Guys, I've done some growing up and strengthening too. You'll be surprised to learn I'm so busy these days, I rarely get enough rest." she then felt a disturbance on the tree, and her eyes turned to slits. Ino.

"S...Sakura?" she asked timidly. "Can I talk to you?" her hand had touched the bark, and had alerted Sakura to her presence.

The pinkette sighed. "Fine."

they headed off a distance away, but Ino didn't know that the others could still hear them. Sakura did, but she didn't care.

"Sakura... _please_... Can you please go out with me again?"

"Ino... I told you it was over."

"_Please_... Sakura... I can't stop thinking about you--"

"NO. I've said no, and I mean no you _damned annoying fangirl_!"

with that Ino ran away, tears streaming, and Sakura looked more dogged and irritated than before. "_Ugh_... Annoying girl." she spoke quietly, a touch of tenderness to her voice. "Stupid, annoying girl."

Naruto blinked, as Sai spoke. "Are you attached to her romantically?" the blonde choked and Kakashi made a half-strangled noise in the back of his throat.

she gave them a cool look. "If you must know, we had a small... attachment back a few years ago. But no matter now, it has dissolved."

Sai looked just as cooly back into her tired green orbs. "You still have a soft spot in your heart for her, and vice versa, right?"

she just stared, then broke his gaze. Her silence was enough of an answer. "Farewell to you all." she bid her goodbye, then ran off, too fast for them to gauge where she went.

-  
Sakura returned to her apartment. Time for sleep. As she slipped into unconsiousness, Inner reminded her that her chakra reserves needed at least twelve hours. She granted that, then fell into the darkness, with that inescapable, nameless, shapeless fear of a nightmare she always had.

* * *

**K.L.K- Whaddya think? Good? Bad? Suckish? Please tell me in your review! (wiggles eyebrows) Hint, hint?**


	2. Chapter 2

**K.L.K- I got a review saying the Ino thing was a tad bit much. I just wanted to symbolize that Sakura had changed drastically from what her former team thought of her. So that's the only reason in there, and there will probably be no mentions of it in the story, even though Sakura still remembers it dearly. She'd had enough with men- Sasuke, remember?- And so she decided to try it with Ino, who readily agreed. And apparently they'd clicked. Nothing more than that, alright? Not to mention Kunoichi usually were vague about thier sexuality, due to missions, and the fact they may die in one. Yare yare...**

**TITLE: Behind The Facade**

**SUMMARY: Sakura can't really be all that happy, now can she? You can see the sadness in her eyes, the bittersweetness of her smiles... When she finally comes to terms with what she's been denying to herself all these years, what could possibly come of it?**

**RATING: T**

**AUTHORESS'S NOTE: Sakura's stuck in one repetitive circle of a life, huh? Well, she's going to start realizing what she's been lying to herself about soon. Okees? And the comment about the grainy crap in the corners of your eyes when you wake up... well... It makes sense, right? I read what that stuff was once, but I forgot... Alright, let's get this moving.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Sakura, but I certainly own this plot. At least, I hope I do.**

* * *

Her eyes cracked open, corners filled with that grainy crap that turned out to be stuff you blinked into the corners of your eyes mixed with the liquid on your optical sensor, dried up. she sat up slowly, back aching and head pounding. She felt positively _awful_. she crawled over to her bathroom, heaving whatever was somehow left in her stomach, hugging the porcelain throne as tightly as she could.

Someone knocked on her door, and she would've shot up in surprise if she hadn't felt like that might just send her careening into the wall. "C...Come in..." she called out weakly, and the person entered, Sakura's senses too screwed with the fog of the headache and the swirling of her thoughts due to the heaving she'd done before. In other words, she had no idea who the person was.

"Sakura?" a feminine voice called out in shock, and the pinkette nearly cried out in relief, if it wasn't for the dizziness threatening to capture her conciousness at that very moment. The busty Hokage bent over her, picking the slight woman up into her arms, then hurried out of the apartment, telling a passing Jonin- Hinata- to take care of it until Sakura returned.

As she bustled through the streets, Sakura's eyes cracked open from thier clenched position, a groan escaping from her lips. "Who...what...unnngh..."

Tsunade tutted, rocked the girl a bit, trying to bring her some comfort. "Shh, Sakura, relax. Soon the pain will be gone."

Sakura gave a tiny, grimacing smile. "Thank...you..." her eyes drifted closed.

The Hokage gazed down, bitter smile on her lips. The girl she cradled in her arms was the one person she would give it all up for. Even Sake and gambling. Her former apprentice was a daughter in the blonde's eyes, and she knew that Sakura had been in pain. Somehow. She was already on her way over, to apologize for not giving her training times lately, but she'd felt a thick shroud of dread envelop her heart, and she had positively flown to the small apartment Sakura used, and now she was on her way to the Hokage tower, to give Sakura medical treatment where she could keep a close eye on her.

with a quick probe of chakra- which the rosette twitched uncomfortably at- she noticed everything she'd been ignoring at once. The girl- no, woman- she held in her strong arms was exhausted. Worn down so much she probably would need a month's time to recover, if this wasn't Sakura. A few weeks, at the most. Her stomach was empty, and it was considerably smaller than she'd noted during the Haruno's checkup a few months prior. In other words, the stomach had shrunk, reducing in size, because the girl hadn't been eating very much. Her skin had a greyish pallor to it, probably from sleeping most of the day then going out to impossibly long shifts in the hospital, then long missions and not too much time on keeping herself healthy.

That and the pinkette had a killer headache, most likely the work of the slight dehydration, hunger, and the place she'd been sleeping. On the floor, most likely! Knowing Sakura, the Hokage reasoned, that the girl had been nearly working herself to death, pushing herself much too hard, resulting in the predicament placed before her. The headache wasn't serious, but Sakura hadn't been able to even get up or crawl to the door. That was pretty bad. Even for a tough kunoichi. It was obvious the pink-haired woman hadn't been getting enough sleep- the dark circles, bruises from busted capillaries' blood, constituted to that. It worried Tsunade, though, at the aspect of what could be ruining her favoured apprentices' quality of sleep.

The woman arrived in the doorway of the Tower, gratefully relatively unseen by anyone. It was very early, anyway. It could only be about five a.m, how the sun was just peeking over the horizon, making the sky light up with a dark blue glow. The air was clammy and chilly, bringing out goosebumps on the shivering pinkette. Tsunade strolled into the tower, immediately meeting face-to-face with Shizune.

"Tsunade-sama, You're supposed to be _asleep_!" she scolded, then her eyes flickered downward, widening as she saw what shape Sakura was in. "Oh dear..."

Tsunade gave a nod, grimly. "She's been pushing herself too hard... She needs to rest. I found her, too weak to even get up, on her bathroom floor."

Shizune squeaked, then started to run off, Tsunade matching her stride, trying not to jostle the dazed girl. "here, Tsunade-sama!" she opened a door to a room connected to her regular office, and it was outfitted with a medium-sized western-styled bed, the sheets and blankets all a shade of light, springy green.

"Thank you, Shizune." she spoke quietly, then carefully placed Sakura down on the sheets, covering her up with the blankets. Along with the headache, slight dehydration and empty stomach, she'd also gained a bit of a fever, out in the chilling early morning air. "Are there any important meetings today?" she asked absentmindedly as she started feeding a nuitrient-filled broth to the feverish rosette, the woman taking the spoonfuls easily.

"Well, there was to be a m-meeting with the Elders, Tsunade-sama..." she spoke softly.

"Cancel it. Sakura needs my care right now, and you know she'd just break out of the hospital." her eyes met Shizune's, who then broke her gaze and then squeaked, cheeks colouring with a blush.

"H-Hai Tsunade-sama! I'll tell them you have more important matters!" with that she rushed out of the room, to prepare things and to send out messages.

Tsunade turned back to the woman laying sick on the bed, coaxing her to take liquid medication for her head and fever along with the broth. "That's it... you'll be better soon..." she crooned.

-  
a few hours later, Tsunade looked up from her paperwork- Shizune had insisted bringing her paperwork in here, since she refused to leave in case Sakura needed her- and she rushed back to Sakura's bedside, as the girl's eyes were wide and feral with fever and fear. "Sakura? Sakura, can you hear me?"

she started shaking. "D...Don't let it get me." she whispered, the tremors racking her body. "N-no..."

Tsunade let confusion slip onto her face. "Don't let what get you, Sakura?"

"N-No..." Sakura moaned, trying to raise her arm to fling over her eyes, but as she was still weakened she couldn't move it that far. her muscles tensed, and Tsunade startled her slightly by sitting down on the bed. She felt Sakura's eyes glide over her form, but she knew she couldn't see her, her eyes fogged with fear, confusion, and the thick daze of illusion the fever had unleashed upon her. She smiled- even though it was probably a lost cause, seeing as Sakura was in her own little world- and she then stroked her now long locks, humming a lullaby-ish tune to try and soothe the woman.

Shizune looked in, unseen with a warm smile on her face. It was good to have Tsunade caring for the rosette. Probably even better for Sakura, too. The last time they'd even spoken had been her checkup, months ago. And even then she'd been practically mute.

Tsunade lay a cold rag on the pale forehead of the woman she was looking after, trying to soothe her back to sleep. She returned to the piles upon piles of paperwork on the floor, trying to keep Shizune off her back about it. It wouldn't do any good to have Shizune nag her, thus disrupting Sakura, right?

-  
Sakura's eyes cracked open, as she finally held onto a scrap of consiousness. Light. Smell. Some sounds. "H...Hello...?" she called out weakly, her voice barely above a cracking whisper.

"Sakura!" the female- whose voise she recognized faintly- cried out, and a fuzzy face with hazel eyes and a purply dot came swimming into her view. "Finally, you're awake!"

Sakura blinked once. Twice. She blinked until the world was clearer, while Tsunade propped her against some pillows. She was in a comfortable room with wooden floors, paneling, and a light green theme to it, obviously. She glanced out the window, and gauged herself to be somewhere in the village. Her mind still felt fogged, her muscles aching and her head heavy and pounding slightly, even now. Her lips were chapped, mouth slightly dry. "W...What..." she managed to get out, before a cold glass was placed on her bottom lip.

"Drink." Tsunade ordered her, and the rosette obliged by swallowing greedily- a survival instinct- and let out a groan of discontent when the blonde took the cup away from her to get her attention. "Drink slowly! Jeeze, you're going to make yourself sicker!" she placed the cool glass back onto Sakura's bottom lip, and this time the rosete paced herself, trying not to gulp the sweet water down. After she was sure to have gotten the last drop, her throat no longer felt like sand paper. She still felt out of it though.

"How...When...Did you..." she tried to form a sentence, but her mind was still muddled. Her body shivered from the stress the hot and cold flashes were putting the nerve endings under, and she knew and felt her stomach being empty yet wasn't hungry. She gave up on forming words and noises, so just conveyed what she wanted to know by the look on her eyes and pale, sweaty face.

"I found you collapsed on your bathroom floor." Tsunade sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed, making it dip towards her so that Sakura's body twisted toward her ever so slightly. "You were exhausted, mentally and physically. You're in the Hokage Tower right now." Sakura's eyes widened ever so slightly, and she strained her muscles. All she could think about was her apartment; without lock or her to protect it. Tsunade's hand anded on her wrist, calming her a tiny bit. "Oi! I left Hinata in charge of your apartment until you're better, alright?"

"T..Thank...You..." Sakura just barely got the words out, her body already trying to slip into sleep, due to the fact it had no reserve energy left and she hadn't had anything to eat in at least a day or so.

"No problem..." The busty blonde smiled, then scanned over the rosette's body, the girl under her skilled hands face twisting slightly in an uncomfortable expression. "Oh! you must be hungry. I'll get Shizune to get something for you to eat..." Shizune was, in fact, right in the doorway at that moment, bringing in more paperwork. "Oh Shizune... Sakura needs something to eat... and I have to stay here, in case something goes wrong. Watch," Tsunade got up, only making Sakura stir, but not wake up, and she stepped out the door.

Sakura's face twisted into a pained expression. She stepped back in, and her face smoothed out into a blank mask she had adapted over the years. Shizune blinked, gave her a stuttering question to which Tsunade replied an easy to eat favourite of Sakura's, and then Tsunade was back in a flash to Sakura's side, comforting the girl and doing paperwork as Shizune went to o get the rosette's favourite, nuitrious, easy-to-eat food that would make the pinkette more comfortable.

-  
"Tsunade-sama! I'm back!" Shizune stepped in, a fresshly made container of miso soup in her hands. "They made this especially for her; the ingredients are sut up really really small." For once she wasn't stuttering, either. She must have felt that she was really helping the dear pinkette.

"Good,_ good_, she needs all the nuitrients she can get." the blonde woman took the hot container, and then a spoon and nudged Sakura.

"H...Huu...?" the Haruno woman asked murmuringly, her eyes still pained but she had gained a little strength.

"Food, Sakura... Food." Tsunade held out the spoonful of soup to the rosette, who weakly opened her mouth. Tsunade put the spoon in and poured the warm food into the rosette's mouth, who swallowed it. Her eyes brightened, and soon she was taking spoonful after spoonful.

Shizune knocked on the door as Tsunade was scraping the bottom of the medium container for the ravenous pinkette. "T-Tsunade-sama... Kakashi-s-san, S-sai, and N-Naruto-k-kun want to s-s-see her...A-Along with S-Sasuke U-Uchiha...They J-Just brought h-him back..."

Sakura's eyes opened wide. "I...Have to... Heal thier... Injuries... Sasuke's... _Dangerous_..." she could finally speak full sentences, and her head was just a bit sore. Her lips were chapped, but not as severely, though they hurt to move, and not to mention her stomach was full of still-warm food. She didn't feel as frail but she still couldn't move very well. She tried nodding, and she could. And move her hands and her arms slightly, and wiggle her toes and move her ankles. She was better, actually. She felt a bit of chakra rushing to her head, but stopped it. She didn't know what would happen, and chakra could only soothe sometimes; not heal.

"T-They're f-fine, S-Sakura-c-chan!" Shizune placed a hand on her shoulder, forcing her back onto the pillows. She had leaned foreward in her attempt to get up and heal. "D-Don't s-strain yourself!"

Tsunade sighed. "Bring them in..."

A few minutes after Shizune left, she returned with the Team Seven boys. "H-Here they a-are..."

Naruto immediately ran to Sakura's side, flipping out. "Sakura-chan! Omikami what have you been doing to yourself?!"

Sai's eyes widened. "H-Hag...?"

Sasuke looked dumbfounded. "Sakura... what happened?" he walked up casually behind the blonde- who was still freaking out.

Kakashi's eye widened almost comically. "Ahh! Why didn't I keep a closer eye on her?! Graah, this is all my fault!" he pulled at his hair.

"OI!_ LET THE PINK-HAIRED HARUNO TALK_!" Tsunade screamed, and they froze in thier spots.

"I...I was stupid..." she breathed. "I...I was...Working... myself... to death... It's none... of your faults..."

Naruto grabbed a hand and rubbed his fingers over her knuckles. "S-Sakura-chan... why...?"

She gave a weak, breathy chuckle. "Eh... I...don't know exactly... I guess I... was stuck in denial...Ha..." She was starting to gather some strength, but her throat was dry...again. "Tsu-Tsunade... Water... _Please_..." The blonde woman fetched another glass and held it to her lips.

"Don't gulp it down like you tried last time." she warned, as Sakura started drinking. When she was done she set the glass down on the side table with a clinking noise, and then took out a thing of balm, then smeared a little on Sakura's pink lips. "There. Your lips looked sore."

"Thank y-you Tsunade." she could talk almost normally, now. just a little weakly. "Now... Listen.. You _dolts_," she smiled slightly. "I-It's none of your faults, alright? It's my... fault. I was stupid enough to n-never take a break. And then I-I end up here... d-dehydration, hunger, and a k-killer headache to boot." she gave a cracked laugh. "I-I'll be f-fine..."

"She'll be here for a few weeks, boys." Tsunade spoke. "Maybe two if she recovers fast. But she needs her rest. It is her fault for getting this sick... but..." she turned to Sakura, her eyes sorrowed. "It...It's also mine. I had so much work to do that she... she slipped my mind... and I ignored her strange behaviour...I was stupid..."

Sakura shook her head slightly."It's mostly my fault... okay, Tsunade...I take full credit..." she coughed once, her throat dry yet again.

Tsunade stroked the rosette's hair from her pale face. "I...Thank you...Sakura." she gave a tiny smile. Naruto had let go of her hand, but he'd grabbed it again, Tsunade moving out of the way slightly.

He ran his thumb over her knuckles again. "Sakura-chan... if you need anything, anything at all, you can ask us."

she shook her head and gave a bittersweet smile. "You don't need to... do that. Really..."

he gave her a sad, worn smile before being shoved out of the way by Kakashi and Sai. "Ugly, we just want you to be happy." the ex-ROOT nin fake-smiled, and the Hatake nodded.

Sasuke looked down upon the rosette. "Can I talk to Sakura..." he coughed. "..._Alone_?"

everyone nodded but Tsunade glared as they left her in the room with him.

"Sasuke...why... are you back...?" she asked, eyes suspicious.

he sat down on the corner of her bed. "Because... I've found that my goals are... infantile. I returned to Konoha because I missed my life here... I missed... _you_. and the rest of the team." his eyes avoided hers.

"Sasuke... do not think... because you returned... that it will go back... to the way it was. I... am now the one with problems... I don't w-want to suck you people... into." when he gave her a piercing look, she mumbled something about it being secret.

Tsunade came back in and the guys left, and Shizune stepped in just as they had finished talking about what Sasuke had said. after that Shizune left some coffee on the side table for the hokage and water for her most recent apprentice. she left after that, with a wave and a smile for a goodbye.

The blonde was kneeling by the bed, just giving Sakura another glass of water before shewent to sleep. She then stroked the pink hair until the green eyes closed on the rosette's face, and the Haruno drifted into a slumber.

"Sweet dreams... Sakura-chan."

* * *

**K.L.K-... Okay I know. First she was all fine for the most part and now she's sick, but she needs this. And we all know Sakura probably WOULD work herself to sickness, ne?**

**Sakura- I hate you. (dryly)**

**K.L.K- (sweatdrops)... just... Review.**


End file.
